Four Byron Shire residents, Robert Dhiraj, Sarvo, Gagan Smith and Melonie Zyla, have just returned from a gruelling 21 day expedition to Tibet. They crossed a 5,000 metre pass before trekking around Mount Kailash to collect sacred water for inclusion in the stupa's treasury.

Mt Kailash is the most revered mountain for a number of faiths including Tibetan Buddhism and it is considered highly auspicious to have water from its snows.

Prayer wheel update.

Since May last year, Nepalese craftsmen have been hand beating the 54 brass prayer wheels that will surround the stupa. Over the past six months, at the Gyuto Monastery in India, monks have been chanting mantras and hand rolling an incredible half a ton of prayers destined for the monument.